Joined: 04 Nov 2007
Posts: 96
Location: Shah Alam
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Whether buying or selling, it pays to know as much as possible about a vintage instrument, so here’s a survey of some of the best reference books published during the past 20 years.
To help point you to the right direction, here’s a listing of what is considered the 10 best books, selected from what is now a pretty sizeable bunch. Some of the books may no longer be in print, but this shouldn’t deter any potential peruser, as these popular publications can still be found, either in music shops, libraries, specialist booksellers, or by exploring the ubiquitous Ebay.
Here’s the list:
1. American Guitars, Tom Wheeler (Harper Perennial, ISBN 0-06-273154-8)
2. Electric Guitars and Basses, George Gruhn and Walter Carter (Miller Freeman, ISBN 0-87930-328-X)
3. Electric Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopaedia, Compiled by Tony Bacon (Balafon, ISBN 1-871547-66-0)
4. Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, George Gruhn and Walter Carter (Miller Freeman, ISBN 0-87930-422-7)
5. The Ultimate Guitar Book (Dorling Kindersley, ISBN 0-86318-640-8)
6. Gibson Electrics – The Classic Years, Andre Duchossoir (Hal Leonard, ISBN 0-7935-3124-1)
7. The Stratocaster Chronicles, Tom Wheeler (Hal Leonard, ISBN 0-634-05678-6)
8. Six Decades Of The Fender Telecaster, Tony Bacon (Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-856-7)
9. 50 Years Of Fender, Tony Bacon (Miller Freeman, ISBN 0-87930-621-1)
10. 50 Years Of The Gibson Les Paul, Tony Bacon (Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-711-0)
Further reading:
Those with a thirst for gaining greater wisdom via the written word should also invest in the following:
Epiphone The complete History (Hal Leonard 0-7935-4948-5)
The Fender Book (Balafon 1-871547-65-2)
Fender: The Sound Heard Round The World (Garfish 0-9648612-7-5)
Guitars From George & Leo (G&L) (Hal Leonard 0-634-06922-5)
The Gibson Les Paul Book (Balafon 1-871547-89-X)
The Gretsch Book (Backbeat Books 1-871547-89-X)
50 Years Of Gretsch Electrics (Backbeat Books 0-87930-822-2)
The Guitars Of The Fred Gretsch Company (Centrestream 0-931759-62-5)
The Guild Guitar Book (Hal Leonard 0-7935-5220-6)
The Hofner Guitar: A History (IMP 0-86359-956-7)
Ibanez The Untold Story (Hoshino 0-9764277-0-2)
The Peavey Revolution (Backbeat Books 0-87930-849-4)
The Complete History Of Rickenbacker Guitars (Centrestream 0-931759-15-3)
The Rickenbacker Book (Balafon 1-871547-69-5)
The PRS Guitar Book (Backbeat Books 0-87930-712-9)
Guitar Stories Volume One (Vintage Guitar Books 1-884883-03-6)
Guitar Stories Volume Two (Vintage guitar Books 1-884883-08-7)
The final two books span many less mainstream manufacturers and make for a fascinating read.
Also worthy of mention are the following:
Bizarre Guitars; History Of Electric Guitars; Elektro Gitarren Made In Germany; Hofner Guitars Made In Germany; The Guru’s Guitar Guide.
The first two are Japanese, but their amazing pictures require no translation. The next pair includes English text and offer a useful insight into Germanic six-strings. Finally, The Guru’s Guitar Guide is a comprehensive value indicator that, although now out-of-date by more than a few years, still provides useful clues to identifying and pricing UK market electrics.
Words Richard Mann Guitarist 285 January 2007
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PRS Singlecut Trem Artist Model. Nice!
Last edited by penghuluhak on Sun Jan 13, 2008 10:41 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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